The Texas Nurses Podcast

Hosted by Cindy Zolnierek, PhD, RN, CAE, Serena Bumpus, DNP, RN, and Kanaka Sathasivan, MPH

Vaccines, burnout, rising cases and masking up.

#COVID19

Episode 005: Marisol Adewunmi, pediatric ICU nurse, and Jeff Watson, TNA Past President

#NurseLife On this episode of the #NurseLife podcast, we wanted to continue our conversation regarding mental health and why it is SO important that we continue to have these conversations and offer each other support. 2020 has not been easy. To say the least. And while nurses tend to be painted as strong and heroic figures, the fact of the matter is that we are tired. This pandemic will definitely leave an impact on our profession and will require some recovery. And so that’s what we are going to focus on today. What does that recovery look like and how do we use this pandemic as an opportunity for nurses and organizations to flip the script on burnout.

#NurseLife Nurses care for others. It is what calls them to nursing. But when nurses are in stressful situations, like the COVID-19 pandemic, ethical concerns can lead to moral distress and compassion fatigue. When nurses know what they need to do to care for a patient but are unable to provide the level of care needed due to supply shortages, changes in standards of care and safety concerns — nurses may face a conflict between their ethical responsibilities and the capabilities of their environment. Many nurses even report leaving the profession due to moral distress.

Hear from a panel of direct care nurses, nurse educators and hospital leaders on how moral distress presents in the workplace and how self-care can strengthen nurses in stressful situations.

Panelists:

Brenda B. Charles MSN, APRN-BC, CCNS, PCCN

Desha Johnson Makiya, PhD, MBA, RN, CCRN-K, PCCN-K

Erin Perez, MSN, APRN, ANP-C, AGNP-C, ACHPN

Catherine Robichaux, PhD, RN, Alumna CCRN

Jeanie L. Sauerland, MA, BSN, RN

Nelson Tuazon, DNP, DBA, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, CPPS, CPHQ, FNAP, FACHE

Michele Wieckowski, RN, BSN-BC

#COVID19 Hosted by Serena Bumpus, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, and Kanaka Sathasivan, MPH

Remembering the nurses who died on 9/11/2001. PPE shortages (ANA surveys), staffing shortages, strain on health care system, hospitalization rate, preparing for flu season, disparities among racial and ethnic minorities, guidance on staff exposure and staff shortages, isolation and quarantine, how nurses can influence policy and advocate at a state level.

Episode 004: Liz Higgins LMFT-S, Individual/Couples Therapist and Founder of Millennial Life Counseling

#NurseLife In this episode, we talk to Liz Higgins LMFT-S, Individual/Couples Therapist and Founder of Millennial Life Counseling. Our aim was to have an open conversation about mental health and share our experiences. The good, bad and the ugly. Maintaining mental health has been a struggle in nursing – even before the era of COVID-19. So how do we take care of ourselves mentally? Why is it so hard? We also take some time to unravel the overwhelming stigma around this topic, generational differences and their responses to mental health – and discuss why talk-therapy should be viewed as a necessity in our profession.

Resources to help nurses looking to talk to someone:

Psychology Today (good search engine for therapy)

Open Path Collective (therapists who agree to reduced-fee services)

Coronavirus Online Therapy (great resource to find affordable therapists)

#COVID19 Hosted by Cindy Zolnierek, PhD, RN, CAE, Serena Bumpus, DNP, RN, and Kanaka Sathasivan, MPH

Updates on staffing, testing capacity, updates to crisis care guidelines, end-of-life care, visitation policies. COVID-19 Task Force updates, a recap of the COVID-19 Frontline Panel, self-care and nursing leadership. Updates on the vaccine development, immunity, best types of homemade masks, treating COVID-19 as a circulatory condition, rather than respiratory, looking at excess deaths and new models, MIS-C in children. 

Please wear a mask and urge your patients to wear masks! Help us change nursing culture to encourage more self-care! 

#COVID19 Hosted by Serena Bumpus, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, and Kanaka Sathasivan, MPH (with Cindy Zolnierek, PhD, RN, CAE)

Episode 003: Ernest Grant PhD, RN, FAAN, President of the American Nurses Association

#NurseLife In our fourth episode, we sit down with Dr. Ernest Grant, President of the American Nurses Association. Dr. Grant talks with Danika and Amy about the Black Lives Matter movement as a whole, the related events as of late and the role that nurses play in standing against racial injustices and atrocities made towards the Black community.

#NurseLife Ep. 2 hosted by Amy McCarthy, MSN, RNC-MNN, NE-BC, and Danika Meyer, MSN, RN-BC, CPN

In our second episode, we sit down with Rachel Barbey, former President of the Texas Nursing Students Association. Rachel recently graduated from the University of Texas at Tyler with her BSN. We took a moment to sit down and speak with her about the impact of COVID-19 on her transition from nursing school as well as starting her career in the midst of a global pandemic.

#NurseLife TNA hosted a panel of Black nurses in Texas from different areas in the state who serve in diverse roles who talked about their experiences. The discussion includes race, racism, nursing ethics and the experience of being Black in America. 

Tommye Austin, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC – Senior Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive at University Health System San Antonio 

Patricia Francis-Johnson, DNP, RN – Assistant Professor and Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing Lubbock

Ebony Mitchell, MSN, RN, BHA - RN Surgery Scheduler Coordinator at Houston Methodist TMC and RN IV/Night Weekend Charge Perioperative Services at Memorial Hermann Hospital TMC

Shakyryn Napie, DHSc, RN, CPN, NEA-BC – Director of Nursing at Cook Children’s Medical Center Ft. Worth

Michelle Newsome, MSN, RN-BC, NE-BC – Clinical Nurse Manager at Baylor Scott and White Round Rock Medical Center

Sola Ahmed Oyewuwo, MSN, MBA, RN – Clinical Nurse at MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston

Antwoin Smith, BSN, RN, MBA-HCM, MSML, NE-BC, CRRN – Chief Nursing Officer at Baylor Scott and White Institute for Rehabilitation Ft. Worth